Stockhausen's Spaceship

[Mirror Image]

It's a pity, I enjoyed James' posts.

[chadfeldheimer]

It's a pity, I enjoyed James' posts.

+1
He was a bit short tempered and confrontational sometimes, but regarding music I got some inspirations by his posts.

[Cato]

+1
He was a bit short tempered and confrontational sometimes, but regarding music I got some inspirations by his posts.

Yes, I am amazed - in one sense - that he left, because he seemed to enjoy this topic especially.  On the other hand, yes, you are quite right about the instant irascibility when someone sniffed or disagreed: he could be intolerant of anyone not liking Stockhausen in toto.

[Karl Henning]

+1
He was a bit short tempered and confrontational sometimes, but regarding music I got some inspirations by his posts.

Well, that is a testimonial!

[chadfeldheimer]

Well, that is a testimonial!

Perhaps it sounds more negative, than it was meant to. Actually I found it a pity if James left or would continue deleting all his posts.

[Karl Henning]

No, I read that as a positive.

[chadfeldheimer]

No, I read that as a positive.

Yes - all evaluations depend on one's point of view, of course.

[Uatu]

FREITAG-VERSUCHUNG (FRIDAY TEMPTATION)
for 5 musical performers (soprano, baritone, bass, flute, basset-horn), children's orchestra, children's choir, 12 choir singers, a synthesizer player, 12 couples of dancer-mimes (ad lib. in concert performances), Electronic Music with Sound Scenes (24-track tape)
(1991-1994)  [145']

http://stockhausenspace.blogspot.com/2015/05/freitag-versuchung.html


FRIDAY TEMPTATION is the main body of Stockhausen's opera, FRIDAY from LIGHT, where EVE is tempted by LUDON (Lucifer), resulting in the continued evolution of Mankind. Has a kind of ring to it...

This post was originally planned to go out tomorrow, but since today is the 1 year anniversary of beginning my Stockhausen project, I thought I might as well bust it out now (so some slight finessing might come in the days ahead). There's still plenty more to go before I finish covering all of Stockhausen's works (with some major pieces coming: KONTAKTE, HYMNEN, MOMENTE, etc...). But I think a short break may be in order...

[Cato]

This post was originally planned to go out tomorrow, but since today is the 1 year anniversary of beginning my Stockhausen project, I thought I might as well bust it out now (so some slight finessing might come in the days ahead). There's still plenty more to go before I finish covering all of Stockhausen's works (with some major pieces coming: KONTAKTE, HYMNEN, MOMENTE, etc...). But I think a short break may be in order...

Uatu: are you buying these works, or listening online?  As I recall, the Stockhausen Verlag did not sell things at a cheap price!

[Uatu]

Uatu: are you buying these works, or listening online?  As I recall, the Stockhausen Verlag did not sell things at a cheap price!

I buy them, and some are at the library.  Actually right now is a VERY GOOD TIME to buy if you are in the United States, because the currency rate against the Euro is so good.  It's like a 30% off sale right now for anything out of Europe. 

[Rex]

I'm very sad that James has gone! He was a great source of information. I hope that wherever he is gone that all is well with him!!

Now I wish I had kept a copy of some of the valuable posts he made!

Uatu - you keep on making excellent additions to your blog! Don't you go disappearing on us too before I've had a chance to digest all you have done.

In fact, even if I do manage to read all your work, still don't disappear on us 

[Uatu]

I'm very sad that James has gone! He was a great source of information. I hope that wherever he is gone that all is well with him!!

Now I wish I had kept a copy of some of the valuable posts he made!

Uatu - you keep on making excellent additions to your blog! Don't you go disappearing on us too before I've had a chance to digest all you have done.

In fact, even if I do manage to read all your work, still don't disappear on us 

Thanks Rex, glad you enjoy reading the blog.  I still have a few dozen Stockhausen works to cover, after that I may do a blog on Ligeti, though his scores are a bit harder to come by.   And much less published analyses to draw from...  But he's probably my 2nd fav post-war guy.

[Oclock]

Basel, here we go! 

Theater Basel
SCHwEIzEr ErStAuFFüHrunG
DOnnErStAG AuS «LICHt»
Oper in drei Akten, einem Gruss und einem
Abschied für 15 musikalische Darsteller, Chor,
Orchester und tonbänder
Musik, Libretto, tanz, Aktionen und Gesten
von karlheinz Stockhausen
25. JunI 2016, GrOSSE BüHnE
In deutscher Sprache mit englischen und
deutschen übertiteln
MuSIkALISCHE LEItunG titus Engel
InSzEnIErunG Lydia Steier
BüHnE Barbara Ehnes
kOStüME ursula kudma
LICHt Olaf Freese
CHOr Henryk Polus
mit Peter tantsits (Michael tenor 1), rolf
romei (Michael tenor 2), Paul Hübner (Michael
trompete), Anu komsi (Eva Sopran), Merve
kazokoglu (Eva Bassetthorn), Michael
Leibundgut (Luzifer Bass), Stephen Menotti
(Luzifer Posaune)
Chor des theater Basel
Studierende der Hochschule für Musik FHnw /
Musik­Akademie Basel
Sinfonieorchester Basel

[Uatu]

Basel, here we go! 

Theater Basel
SCHwEIzEr ErStAuFFüHrunG
DOnnErStAG AuS «LICHt»
Oper in drei Akten, einem Gruss und einem
Abschied für 15 musikalische Darsteller, Chor,
Orchester und tonbänder
Musik, Libretto, tanz, Aktionen und Gesten
von karlheinz Stockhausen
25. JunI 2016, GrOSSE BüHnE
In deutscher Sprache mit englischen und
deutschen übertiteln
MuSIkALISCHE LEItunG titus Engel
InSzEnIErunG Lydia Steier
BüHnE Barbara Ehnes
kOStüME ursula kudma
LICHt Olaf Freese
CHOr Henryk Polus
mit Peter tantsits (Michael tenor 1), rolf
romei (Michael tenor 2), Paul Hübner (Michael
trompete), Anu komsi (Eva Sopran), Merve
kazokoglu (Eva Bassetthorn), Michael
Leibundgut (Luzifer Bass), Stephen Menotti
(Luzifer Posaune)
Chor des theater Basel
Studierende der Hochschule für Musik FHnw /
Musik­Akademie Basel
Sinfonieorchester Basel

Great news.  Some English info:

Karlheinz Stockhausen is one of the most influential composers of the post-war period. His mammoth work ,,LIGHT" is a seven-day cycle about the human race and religions of the world, which Stockhausen weaves into the music. ,,THURSDAY" is the first work of the cycle and was world premièred in 1981. For this momentous undertaking, of which the first rehearsals are already scheduled for this July, Opera Director Laura Berman was able to engage the internationally renowned opera stage director Lydia Steier. The conductor is Titus Engel and the musical director is Kathinka Pasveer. (2 performances will take place at the end of June 2016 and 3 in September 2016).

And from Laura Berman (on Facebook): "Dear Stockhausen-Fans, at the moment the theater's subscribers have an option to renew, then season subscriptions go on sale. According to our announcement, tickets for operas on the main stage go on sale circa 3 months in advance - there are two performances of DONNERSTAG scheduled for the final weekend of the season June 25 and 26. "

Announcements to come.

[Uatu]

STOP

Nr. 18: STOP, for Orchestra (as 6 Groups)
(1965) [approx. 20 minutes]

     Stockhausen composed STOP "on the spot" during a 7-hour composition seminar at the Cologne Courses for New Music 1964-65 (which he had founded in 1963), when the participants asked him to demonstrate "the process of writing a work, with exact details".  This piece eventually became a part of Stockhausen's 1973 London Sinfonietta touring group's program (the other pieces being KREUZSPIEL, ZEITMASZE, ADIEU and YLEM, with KONTRA-PUNKTE sometimes substituting for STOP).

     STOP is structured so that connected tremolo-based sections alternate with (or are STOPped by) quiet "noise" sections (sparse, un-pitched sounds). The score is written as 42 Sections, each with specific instructions for instrumental layering (tutti vs.smaller combos), dynamics, articulation and available pitches.  Different techniques for transitioning from one Section to the next are also indicated, and during most Sections there are brief, fully-scored phrases, played as "solos" by different instruments, which act as a kind of "dotted" through-line melody (at least conceptually).

More below:
http://stockhausenspace.blogspot.com/2015/05/stop.html

[EigenUser]

Thanks Rex, glad you enjoy reading the blog.  I still have a few dozen Stockhausen works to cover, after that I may do a blog on Ligeti, though his scores are a bit harder to come by.   And much less published analyses to draw from...  But he's probably my 2nd fav post-war guy.

Great to hear that you're a Ligeti fan. He's my 2nd/3rd favorite composer ever!

I seriously considered starting a Ligeti blog, but it never happened. That could be a very interesting project, especially because his music is far more elusive to analysis. He used no particular system (I think of micropolyphony as a technique leading to an effect as opposed to a system like serialism).

STOP is structured so that connected tremolo-based sections alternate with (or are STOPped by) quiet "noise" sections (sparse, un-pitched sounds).

I haven't heard it, but it seems similar to Punkte (based off of this description, at least)...

[Uatu]

Great to hear that you're a Ligeti fan. He's my 2nd/3rd favorite composer ever!

I seriously considered starting a Ligeti blog, but it never happened. That could be a very interesting project, especially because his music is far more elusive to analysis. He used no particular system (I think of micropolyphony as a technique leading to an effect as opposed to a system like serialism).
I haven't heard it, but it seems similar to Punkte (based off of this description, at least)...

I would love to see a Ligeti blog done.  You should just pull the trigger and do it.  I doubt I'll be able to do as good a job as my Stockhausen coverage, simply because there is much less published self-analysis.  And my score-reading skills are fairly basic.  But a Ligeti piece just came up on my shuffle iPod and I was pretty amazed at the breadth of his style (Adaptations for Barrel Organ - Musica ricercata - VII. Cantabile, molto legato).  Great fun and worlds away from Lux Aeterna of course.

STOP sounds like PUNKTE in the 2nd (of 42) sections, but after that, it concentrates much more on layers of tremolos, alternating with semi-improvised ambient noise sections through extended technique.

[Uatu]

FRESCO
for 4 orchestra groups: Wall-Sounds for Meditation,
(1969) [approx. 5 hours length]

     In 1969, Stockhausen was asked to present a concert program at the Beethovenhalle in Bonn (birth city of Beethoven). Stockhausen's idea was to do something along the lines of his previous works for independent-but-concurrent compositions, such as ENSEMBLE and MUSIK FÜR EIN HAUS.  In this case, 3 rooms in the Beethovenhalle concert complex were used to present 3 simultaneous Stockhausen programs (some with pre-taped works, some performed live).  Additionally, four foyer spaces (not normally used for presenting music) contained 4 chamber orchestras, which each independently played a layer of FRESCO ("wall sounds for meditation"), a new "ambient" work, mostly consisting of extremely slow glissandi.  Since there were only 3 rehearsals available for this piece before the performance, Stockhausen wrote very technically simple music to play, but the real "magic" of the piece is how the individual players within a group "vibrate" together as they navigate the glissandi (heterophonically).  For example, one intention is to create different speeds of frequency beating through close, but contrasting, unison lines.

More here:
http://stockhausenspace.blogspot.com/2015/05/fresco.html

[Uatu]

DÜFTE - ZEICHEN (Scents - Signs)
for 7 vocalists, boy's voice, synthesizer
(2002) ['57]

    DÜFTE - ZEICHEN is kind of a vocal review of all 7 operas in the LICHT cycle, giving each Day it's own song (MONTAG AUS LICHT also gave each Day it's own signature song, but here the songs also include duos and trios).  The themes of each of the 7 Days are poetically described and their symbols explained.  Actually the libretto text of DÜFTE - ZEICHEN is probably one of my favorites in the entire LICHT cycle.  For the most part, I personally am not a huge fan of "abstract" wordplay (especially in a foreign language), but here the wordplay seems much more agreeable to me - or maybe after so many previous operas with strange-sounding words I am finally "getting in to it" (also there is a somewhat greater mixture of German and English text in SONNTAG AUS LICHT than in the other operas).  The way that Stockhausen designed the Signs to match the themes of each Day are very clever, and I never really appreciated them until studying these texts.

     The 3 layers (synthesizer, background aleatory layer and vocal soloists) work wonderfully together, but it's also great that the Day songs are on a separate CD without the aleatory layer, to be enjoyed purely as a "song cycle".  The way that Stockhausen has structured the songs to reflect the concepts, story arcs and sign shapes of each of the Days of the Week is very fascinating, and gives each Day phase its own identity.  The "Overtone Chant" accompanying the Alto solo also stands out as being a very beautiful and transparent choral piece, one that I wish could have been even longer.

     Though it's hard to appreciate without having seen these works live, I imagine that these scents, signs and hand/body gestures work together wonderfully in a very organic way (no pun intended).  The idea of using scents as another layer to the Days of the Week is pretty fantastic.  I've never heard of this being used in other works (though Stockhausen had "floated" this idea as early as when he was writing the first LICHT opera).  I would have liked to see this concept expanded to include the Foods of the Days of the Week and the Wines of the Days of the Week (which the audience could consume during each Day phase), but Stockhausen sadly never included "tastes". 

Full analysis here:
http://stockhausenspace.blogspot.com/2015/05/dufte-zeichen.html

[Uatu]

Stockhausen: Sounds in Space - POLE/EXPO

At the core of these works is the idea of "fusing" with a shortwave radio event and then performing considered, disciplined explorations (solo, duo and trio variations) of these basically unpredictable sound events (unless one knows the local DJ and can make requests ). It's possible that in POLE and EXPO that multiple layers ("trains") of radio themes could surface, but any parallel tracks usually end up joining due to the frequent instructions to "relate" to another person's layer.

As I wrote in my SPIRAL impressions, I think the impact of these works has much to do with the players and their chosen instrument(s). Stockhausen has arranged some of his other works for alternate instruments (IN FREUNDSCHAFT, TIERKREIS, etc...), and some others also have open-ended instrumentation (STOP, YLEM, SOLO, PLUS-MINUS), but I think none are as open-ended in content as these works, leaving the performers' instrumental timbre and playing style as defining characteristics for each interpretation (even the "intuitive music" works (AUS DEN SIEBEN TAGEN, FÜR KOMMENDE ZEITEN) have at their core the rhythmic concept of slow ensemble "vibrations"). The SPIRAL-POLE-EXPO trio of works seems more concerned with relative degrees and kinds of reflection between individual forces (including with oneself), rather than larger structural processes. Processes do exist, but since the choice and degree of parameters are so open-ended, it's harder to sense these without having an annotated score at hand. In fact, it's even expected that performers start from different assigned points in the score from performance to performance. ZYKLUS and KLAVIERSTÜCK XI also have this kind of "polyvalent form", but those are quite thoroughly-notated for percussion and piano (respectively) and require the player to "finish" the piece in one performance.

Probably more so than in any other Stockhausen work, the performers' individual instrumental style comes through as a primary focus when listening to these works, especially considering that there could be a relatively wide latitude to the interpretation of the score symbols. In other words, it may be possible to consider the version of POLE by Eötvös and Bojé as "showcases" for their skills on electrochord and electronium, and the more recent versions led by Michael Vetter to be something like fast-paced Brecht-ian comic-operas, threaded through with absurdist sound poetry and ethnic folk stylizations. Another version of POLE in 2010 featuring European free improvisors Frank Gratkowski (on saxophone) and Anton Lukoszevieze (cello) sounds very much like, well, European Free Improvisation.

Now, remarking on these performer-based factors is not meant to undercut Stockhausen's contribution, since the key idea of using a shortwave to germinate trains of development is unique, and the "velocity" (or perhaps "proportions of change") in these works is very Stockhausen-ian (and possibly even serially organized). The notation symbols are also a novel way of forming clear dramatic arcs, but leaving room for many surprises at every performance. POLE is also the only work of Stockhausen's which includes a "mix balance" score for live performance (other electronically-realized works of his have notated motions, but those are not really for a performers to interpret live). But for most casual listeners, the appreciation of these works may in the end come down to how much the listener likes the natural improvisational style and instrumentation of the performers themselves. Actually, come to think of it, one could say that these works are Stockhausen's gift to the creative improvising musician.
More:

http://stockhausenspace.blogspot.com/2015/05/pole-expo.html